WHEN FICTION FEELS REAL/PERSON OF INTEREST, post 1

As a writer, I often find myself analyzing pop movies, books, and TV. I inquire as to why these things have attained such popularity. Lately, I have been focusing on a single TV show, Person of Interest. This show is gaining cult status, much like LOST, Forever Night, or Star Trek.

I usually don't go for movies or TV shows based on comic books or Mad Max style action heroes. I was, however intrigued by the premise of a TV show about post-911 surveillance, organized by a super-computer.

Person of Interest is a show that causes the viewer to willingly suspend disbelief in order to enjoy clever writing. Though the story is pure fantasy, it seems real. This is partially because the show deals with themes that the viewers feel to be real.

There are 3 basic themes that reoccur in the show and they strike a chord with fans. These themes are paranoia, deception, and redemption.

Person of Interest explores our basic paranoia, the feeling that someone is watching us. The machine not only sees us, but judges us. The color of the facial recognition squares on the screen, determines the degree of our violent intent. When a man on the screen says, "I would kill for that job," the machine decides whether or not this is an actual threat. Viewers find it easy to believe that tracking a person in this way is not only possible, but probable.

Our heroes, Reese and Finch, however, manage to remain invisible--often hiding in plain sight. Their identities remain unknown and they are able to move throughout New York City in anonymity.

We live in a world where our identities are always in danger. It is nice to feel that it could be possible to "live off the grid." Instead, we are more likely to believe that we are being tracked by our cell phone's GPS or that someone has bugged our land line. I have to admit my own paranoia was piqued recently when I put my own cell phone beside my lap top and was suddenly able to overhear a total stranger's conversation.

It is our basic paranoia that draws us into the world of Person of Interest. It is the other 2 themes that keep us there. I will explore those themes in future posts.

After The Memorial Service

Yesterday I attended the memorial service of a friend. Though the focus of such things is, naturally, on the deceased and the family, I am always reminded of life's ephemeral quality.

I once wondered how I would be remembered after--well--you know. I like to think that we are all connected--like in the Hollywood movies. It is hard to keep a dry eye at the end of an It 's A Wonderful Life style movie. I would even love to write such a life-affirming tale. The truth is, I have days when I really doubt that my life has such a ripple effect on others. Have I inadvertently saved a ship load of soldiers or kept Potter from taking over the city? My ripples just aren't that wide.

So now, as I am attending more funerals of people my own age, I realize it is not so much about how I will be remembered when I die, but will my memory linger at all? It is a bitter pill to swallow, a major readjustment as I gauge my life, my decisions, my goals. How does one live this new phase of life--knowing that tomorrow is not promised, that all you have accomplished will be forgotten?

Then I turned to Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 NKJ.

9. What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?
10. I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.
11. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
12. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives.
13. and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of his labor--it is the gift of God.

Why didn't I notice those verses years ago? I guess I needed them the most--today.

A WRITER'S ROLLER COASTER

Well, I took the big step.

Yesterday, on MLK day, I sent off my manuscript to a publishing company. This is the 3rd time to send, Second Chances, to this editor. There were specific changes she wanted me to make before considering it for publication. I quickly realized the changes greatly improved the story.

Second Chances is about 5 years in the making. That is 5 years of writing, sending to publishers, rewriting, sending to other publishers, setting the story aside, then rewriting again. Most of that time I have been working at a "day job," too.

Now, I wait--and pray.

CHECKING IN--WORKING ON MY BOOK

I am just checking in today. I have been editing a manuscript and really have not had the time to post on my blog since New Years.

The holidays came and went--and I continued to work on creating this baby of mine, the first in a series of three books. It is a story about a mother's search for her missing teen, a detective who might be able to help her, and the single clue--a boy who claims to have seen a U.F.O.

So are you interested, yet?

One of my resolutions--to find a publisher for this novel. With a wish and a prayer, and a lot of work, it'll happen.

DEALING WITH GRINCHES

I was a child the first time the classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas appeared on American TV. We all know the Dr. Seuss tale about the green Grinch who couldn't stand it when the Whos celebrate Christmas. He wished to destroy the entire holiday; trees, songs, gift giving, and the feast. The idea of someone trying to destroy a holiday that extolls the virtues of peace, love, and giving seemed completely ludicrous to the child I was.

--But perhaps the forward thinking Dr. Seuss was secretly a friend of a time traveling Doctor. --Or maybe he simply realized where the tides of political correctness (though that was not what it was called) would lead. He realized that an innocent holiday, a way of life, was under attack.

American Atheists was the movement catching the media's attention then, just as Freedom From Religion does today. Like the unsuspecting Whos of the Dr. Seuss story, the Christians slept while atheist groups attempted to restrict their cultural celebrations and rewrite their history.

Most American Christians trusted that capitalism would make sure that Christmas would always exist. As long as it had commercial value, Christmas would be encouraged. The unexpected twist to this is the inclusion movement. Christmas is now a part of a series of winter holidays. The Christmas tree is now a holiday tree. Christmas shopping is called holiday shopping. Carols--what a joke. Last week a public school was in legal hot water over the singing of Silent Night. Just as the Grinch removed the giant Christmas tree from the center of Whoville, The Freedom From Religion (and similar haters) snatch the nativity scenes from town squares.

Seuss' story has a happy ending when the Grinch repents from his hateful ways. He sees that the Whos don't need the outward symbols. What they have is deep within each of them.

Yes, we are under attack. There are angry people who want to strip from Christians all signs of their cultural heritage. We mustn't sleep as the Grinch steals Christmas from us. At the same time, we must remember that what we have is far more than plaster statues and wooden crosses. It is something that is real and dwelles within us.

That, no one can steal.

THANKSGIVING 2011

As Americans enter the holiday season, there is a mixture of joy and sadness. Why? Holidays, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas, evoke nostalgia. 1) We think of past holidays and recall unsatisfying experiences or 2)we mourn who or what we have lost. I have known and still know people stuck in this cycle, like an old fashioned record stuck in a groove, they yearly relive a sad childhood experience or mourn the family member no longer with them, rather than reflect on the joy that could be found in the present.

I am nostalgic about Thanksgiving. Yes, there are some really unhappy holidays in my past, but even in these times I managed to focus on the reasons for the holiday celebrations. Thanksgiving is about focusing on what God has provided. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. That helped me push my own hurts and disappointments aside. Sometimes going through the motions is what you need to do to get to a better place in your life.

This week I heard a news report that said that people with a thankful, grateful spirit are both more physically and mentally healthy than those who are ungrateful. No doubt they are happier.

This Thanksgiving Holiday let us have a thankful heart. Laugh about the burned marshmallows on the yams. Joke about the jiggling cranberry sauce. Scarf down the dry stuffing and lumpy gravy, but remember to enjoy the moment.

WHAT WOULD BE PRINTED ON OUR BACKS?

A short time ago, I was driving along the highway and saw a group of people wearing bright orange vests, collecting trash along the highway. As I approached, I noticed the trash collectors all had their backs to the passing motorists, clearly trying not to be identified. On the back of each vest, in bold black print, were the words: I DRINK AND DRIVE. These people were all working off their crimes. They thought the crimes would be secret, but they were exposed in the light of an autumn morning.

To me, there was something powerful about this sight; people getting the chance to work off their debts and looking to tomorrow with clean slates. Since making amends is part of many 12 step programs, I wondered why it isn't a condition of other non-violent offences.

--But the vests conjured up the memory of Hawthorn's, THE SCARLET LETTER, where people wore the initial of their sins upon the breast of their clothing.

Then I wondered about myself and harm I may have inflicted upon others. What would be embroidered upon my lapel? What would be emblazoned upon the back of my vest? Would the crime be something I could work off or had the harm I had caused be far to deep? Are my sins those of omission or commission?

It is confusing sometimes, trying to make it through this life. After all, there are no real victimless crimes.